Thursday, November 15, 2012

Sometimes Simple Isn't Easy

This pullover came about because I was curious about the possibility of shaping a sweater with cables. As you may know, the twisting action of cables draws the knitting in, making the fabric narrower. Instead of the usual increases and decreases to shape the waist, could I achieve the same shaping with a cable motif? I charted and swatched to figure out just how much cable was needed to produce the shaping I wanted. Then I knit the sweater.

And it wasn't right.

The scale was off. The cable medallion produced the waist shaping I wanted, but it was too small to make the visual impact needed.

I had three choices:
1. Take a trip down the river Denial and leave it as it was.
2. Remove the sleeves, take out the shoulder seams, and unravel the body of the sweater to the beginning of the cable, then re-knit.
3. Cut off the sweater at the bustline, unravel and re-knit the lower body of the sweater with revised cables panels, then graft the sections back together.
Monty, I'll take door number 3, though number 1 is very tempting.

I don't have photos of the surgery in process (it's just too much like taking photos of a crash at the side of the road). As you can see, the operation was successful. The re-scaled cables are so much better than the original. After blocking, even I can't find the line where the pieces were grafted together.

The sweater has a deep V-neck with cabled decreases for just a touch of sexy detail.

For the yarn, I wanted to use something a bit luxurious. Something soft and warm, with good stitch definition to show off the cables, but without bulk. Lorna's Laces Honor was perfect. It is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. The yarn is drapey, but not droopy. It caresses your skin in the most wonderful way. And the nearly solid color adds depth and richness.

At some of the wineries in Napa Valley, tastings of port are offered with small squares of dark chocolate - truly a match made in heaven. In my fantasy life, I'd wear this casually elegant sweater in front of a crackling fire, bathed in candlelight, curled up on the couch with a charming man, sipping port and letting squares of chocolate melt on my tongue.

Also in this issue, I have an article on knitting myths and why you might choose to ignore them. I had a lovely e-mail in my box this morning from the one and only Cat Bordhi, thanking me for the article. Made my day.

1 comment:

Great article and beautiful pattern! I have been pondering the same idea--a cable motif in lieu of waist shaping--and am quite pleased that you've done the work for me. Honor is one of my favorite yarns, too!